1. Field of Application
The present invention relates to a half cut unit for cutting only a print tape portion or a release tape portion of a laminated tape, which is formed by adhering the release tape to the back surface of the print tape after the print tape has had characters, figures, and the like printed on it by a tape printer.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has been known a type of laminated tape including a print tape and a peel-away release tape. To form such a laminated tape, the release tape is attached to a printed-on print tape by an adhesive precoated on the back surface of the printed-on print tape. When the print tape is to be attached to a predetermined object, such as a tape cassette or a file, the release tape is peeled off and the print tape is adhered to a surface of the object.
To peel the release tape off the print tape, the user inserts his or her fingernail between the intimately contacting print tape and release tape. Some people find this operation quite difficult, and can not easily peel the release tape off the print tape.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,213 discloses a half cut unit for cutting only a separate paper (release tape) of a laminated tape including a printing tape and the separate paper. Because only the printing tape is cut, a user can more easily separate the separate paper from the printing tape. The half cut unit includes a cutter for cutting the printing tape. The cutter includes a base plate formed with a pair of legs, and a cutting blade disposed on the base plate with its cutting edge extending between the guide legs. The base plate and the cutting blade are arranged so that the distance from the cutting edge to the ends of the guide legs is smaller than the thickness of the separate paper. A tape-receiving stand is provided for supporting the laminated tape from the separate paper side.
To cut the laminated tape, the cutter is moved toward the tape-receiving stand with the cutting edge maintained in parallel with the surface of the tape-receiving stand. The guide legs abut against the surface of the tape-receiving stand so that the printing tape is cut full through and the separate paper is only cut partially through.